Search Based Software Engineering for Program Comprehension

Search based software engineering (SBSE) is an approach to software engineering in which search based optimization algorithms are used to identify optimal or near optimal solutions and to yield insight. SBSE techniques can cater for multiple, possibly competing objectives and/or constraints and applications where the potential solution space is large and complex. Such situations are common in software engineering, leading to an increasing interest in SBSE. This paper provides a brief overview of SBSE, explaining some of the ways in which it has already been applied to program-comprehension related activities. The paper also outlines some possible future applications of and challenges for the further application of SBSE to program comprehension.